A Home on the Page: An Interview with Author Kao Kalia Yang

Award-winning author Kao Kalia Yang and dynamic illustrator Seo Kim team up once more to create the heartfelt picture book A Home on the Page. In this story, young Nou finds the hateful message “Asians Go Home” spray-painted outside on her family’s mailbox. She starts to wonder where home truly is. Family members share how they find home, and Nou begins writing stories, creating a place where she belongs.

Today author Kao Kalia Yang joins us to share what writing this picture book meant to her and how it felt to team up with Seo Kim who illustrated her first book A Map into the World.

How does this book tell the story of how you became an author?

I’ve been keeping journals since I was a young girl. In fact, as soon as I could write, I’ve been writing the stories of my life, stories gifted me, stories I’ve stumbled upon and feared forgetting. Often, what ended up in my journals were the things that caused me pain, some of which were crimes against Asian Americans, Hmong Americans. Writing has been a lifelong tool for me to hold on to hope. Born a stateless child in a refugee camp, as a member of the Hmong minority, I’ve never had the benefit of a homeland. A guest, a newcomer, sometimes viewed as an interloper—I’ve been writing in search of home for as long as I can remember. This book gets to the heart of why I go to the page, time and again, always in search of perspective and belonging.

What inspired this book?

Carol Hinz’s curiosity and wonder have inspired several of my Carolrhoda titles, including this one. She knew that I, like so many other Asian Americans, had experienced the brutalities of Asian hate during the pandemic and its aftermath, that many of us have been subjected to it across the different spaces of our lives long before term came into popular consciousness. It was an opportunity for me to tune into myself. I knew what had transpired across the seasons of my life, from the hate messages on our mailboxes, from the passive observations of society about certain traits such as shyness that are often placed on Asian girls, the ignorance of peers and colleagues with regard to food and language, and I know these incidents are not unique to me. Carol offered me an opportunity to tackle on the page one of the most asked questions when I stand before communities of color, Native American audiences, and other marginalized groups, “How do you go on?” Writing has always been a brace for me in the moments when I’ve stumbled upon systemic and individualized injustices and inequities.

What do you hope others will get from reading this book?

I hope readers gain valuable insights into the harms of racist words and actions and know better of its deep and painful reverberations in the heart of a child. I hope that readers who have experienced racism and other forms of mistreatment will find solace in how our young protagonist feels the hurt and finds a way to surface from their hateful hold, to claim creative space for herself to soar.

How does it feel to team up with Seo Kim again?!

It is so fun to “meet” again in the hold of a story and the pages of a book. I am a big fan of Seo’s art and feel blessed that we got to do A Map Into the World together. It is lovely to enter the space of her creativity and see how she brings A Home on the Page to life. I love the collaborative effort of a picture book and am thrilled that my words get to play with Seo’s artistry once again. This is my first time working twice with the same artist on two different projects across a spread of years. It is fun to bear witness to her artistic journey via the books, see how her growing life and circumstances have shaped her artistry, get a stronger feel for the underlying aesthetics that do not change with time and things that have shifted. It’s fun to contemplate how readers of both our books will see us and our interplay on the page.

Praise for A Home on the Page

“In this heartrending but hopeful story that celebrates family ties and the imagination, swooping, surreal floral details are set against lovely textured backgrounds, while tilted images and masses of swirls reflect Nou’s discombobulation. Still, her sweet spirit and wide dreams overcome all.”—starred, Foreword Reviews

“Nou narrates the story, sensitively portraying the child’s experiences being treated as an “outsider.””—Booklist

“A resonating, inspiring story that encourages creative resilience and strength.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Visually expressing the story’s emotional shifts in digital, largely shadowless illustrations that mimic graphite, pastels, and watercolor, Kim renders tumult in dense scribbles that morph into sketchbook-like renderings as Nou builds a home, and returns to serenity, by drawing and writing.”—Publishers Weekly

“A powerful story with beautiful illustrations that not only calls out the hate that is in the world today but also provides a message of hope for those who are in search of a creative outlet to find their proverbial home.”—School Library Journal

Launch at XIA Books, Gallery & Cafe

On February 3rd, a crowd gathered at XIA Books, Gallery & Cafe to witness A Home on the Page released into the world. With coffee and snacks, attendees listened to author Kao Kalia Yang read the picture book aloud. Afterward she shared her thoughts on creating the story and her hopes for those who encounter it.

“I made a decision a long time ago that I would build a more welcoming world,” Kalia said. “I write these books for the children so that they know that they’re not alone.”

Connect with the Author

Kao Kalia Yang is a Hmong American writer, teacher and public speaker. Born in the refugee camps of Thailand to a family that escaped the genocide of the Secret War in Laos, she came to America at the age six. Yang holds degrees from Carleton College and Columbia University. Her work has won numerous awards and recognition including multiple Minnesota Book Awards, a Charlotte Zolotow Honor, an ALA Notable Children’s Book Award, the 2023 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, Dayton’s Literary Peace Prize, and a PEN USA Award in Nonfiction.